Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

The amendment would be consistent with Article 30.3 of the Constitution in respect of the prosecution of offences on indictment, which employs the phrase "in the name of the People and at the suit of the Attorney General". The Prosecution of Offences Act 1974 transferred the powers of the Attorney General regarding the prosecution of offences to the DPP. In the case, therefore, of an ordinary criminal indictment, there are two parties to the laying of the charge, namely, the people and the DPP. This is reflected in the correct form for the indictment, which is "The People (DPP) v. the accused". Under the proposed provisions of the Bill, the Director of Military Prosecutions alone will proffer the charges under military law and the charge will be laid as the Director of Military Prosecutions versus the accused. If the Bill is amended as proposed, the charge will still be laid in the same terms without alteration and therefore the amendment is unnecessary.